


The Bruxa and The Bard

by Desparado



Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Hurt Jaskier | Dandelion, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desparado/pseuds/Desparado
Summary: A hunt in an abandoned castle goes horrifically wrong, putting your favourite bard (and secret crush) in danger.
Relationships: Jaskier | Dandelion/Reader
Kudos: 5





	The Bruxa and The Bard

**Author's Note:**

> Characters: Jaskier x mage!reader ; Geralt x mage!reader (platonic); Reader is female and has female pronouns
> 
> Prompt: From @prompt-disaster on tumblr  
> 12 "You are the best thing that happened in my poor, miserable, sick..." "Yeah yeah I get it, your life was a mess before you met me."
> 
> Warnings: Swearing; Canon typical violence; Is this a shameful self-insert with a reader who isn’t quite at grips with their feelings? Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t; Angst… but is there a happy ending???

“Geralt!” You bellowed as loud as you can, your voice echoing through the dark halls of the abandoned castle. It was risky, the loud noise was easily going to attract the beast, but you were desperate. “Geraaaaalt!” You continued, checking each corridor and open room. ‘ _What’s this?_ ’ A soundless voice flitted through your mind. You span round but saw nothing and continued searching, this time in silence. ‘ _A witch_ and _a witcher… how delightful._ ’ Turning a corner, you spotted a dark figure disappear into a room further down. Sword in hand, you marched down, your heart rapidly thumping against your chest. ‘ _But not nearly as delightful as the young man… he’s so scrumptious!_ ’ You stopped dead in your tracks, adrenaline was flooding your veins at great speed. ‘ _Hee hee so you know him… is he a friend?_ ’ A fog seeped into your mind as your thoughts lingered on images of Jaskier, smiling at you and playing his lute. Suddenly a piercing scream pushes you from behind and propels you into the wall ahead, your body slamming into it with brutal force…

Earlier that evening…

“Oh please Geralt, just one more!” Jaskier pleaded, empty cup in his hands like a beggar man asking for more.  
“No. I need to prepare.” Geralt grunted, slipping out of his chair and towards the tavern’s exit.  
Jaskier pouted before turning to look at you wide-eyed, “Y/n, my dear sweet y/n-”  
“Oh no Jaskier, the sun’s going down, Geralt needs my help and you need to stop drinking!”  
“Just one for the road?”  
“Nope; Come on I’m taking you back to the room.” You stood up and was surprised to see Jaskier follow so eagerly.  
“I knew you couldn’t deny your feelings much longer, y/n! I’ll be a tender lover, I-” You slammed your hand over his mouth with haste, seeing his doe-eyed look switch to fear very quickly, “Say another word and I’ll gut you and feed you to the pigs, understand?” He nodded quickly and you removed your hand.  
Walking out into the cold, you looked up at the burnt red sky bruising into an indigo colour. “Right, I need my pouches from the room then Jaskier you need to stay there until…” You trailed off as a young man ran up to you, panting heavily and looking panic-stricken.  
“A-Are you. The mage?”  
You raised an eyebrow, “Yes.”  
“It’s my pa. I found him in the forest. I think the beast got him. Please help him.”  
“Fuck,” You muttered under your breath, taking a moment to think before turning to Jaskier, “Jask go up to the room and wait there. I’ll be up soon to pick up my pouches. Stay there okay?”  
“Sure thing y/n.” He smiled before spinning his body towards the inn as you sprinted after the young man, willing Jaskier to do as you ask.  
Jaskier was whistling to himself as he walked across the empty square then suddenly stopped, feeling a presence watching him. He looked up and was startled to see a young woman with long black hair standing in a dark corner a small distance from him. From what he could see, she was rather beautiful and smiled at him in a way that pulled his heartstrings. “A-are you alright?” He called out, uncertain of the feeling that was brewing in his chest. She looked him up and down then licked her lips slightly before beckoning him to follow her. Jaskier was intrigued- she really was beautiful- and if you weren’t going to reciprocate his feelings, then someone else will. 

After almost losing the man twice, you managed to save the young boy’s father with some kitchen herbs and a good amount of energy. They were very grateful, offering anything you would want as a token of their appreciation, but instead you offered them a smile and asked them to stay indoors until the hunt was over. Checking the moon’s position, you cursed yourself for taking so long and ran over to the inn. Upon opening the door to your room, you cursed loudly. It was empty, just as tidy as before, as if Jaskier never entered. “The bloody idiot can’t follow a single instruction!” You hissed to yourself as you grabbed your pouches, tied them securely to your belt and ran back downstairs and out into the street. Just as you got to the tavern, a couple strolled out, laughing and smiling away. “Excuse me,” You interrupted, “But is there a bard in there? Medium height, short brown hair with a red doublet?”  
“No, haven’t seen him since you both walked out earlier I’m afraid.” The woman smiled sympathetically before leaving you to your fears. You closed your eyes tight, and focused on a memory of Jaskier, his eyes, his smile, his voice. Then, as you rubbed the silver ring on your index finger, felt your body turn and walk. You let this happen for a few moments, willing your body to guide you to where Jaskier was, until you began to lose balance. Upon opening your eyes, your heart sank as your gaze fell upon the dirt track that led out of the village and through the woods to the abandoned castle. The same castle that Geralt was at, battling the bruxa which had been luring men to their deaths for the past few months.

Present time…

As your body slumped to the cold stone ground, pain swept through your legs and around your whole body. A copper taste grew in your mouth. Gradually, you heaved yourself up into a seated position, spitting blood at your side as you pulled a black herb from a small pouch by your side. You slipped it under your tongue and muttered a small incantation before then chewing and swallowing it. A burning sensation flowed down your throat like a strong alcohol and then spread throughout your body. “Fucking bruxas.” You panted as the feeling grew back in your body, “Aah… that’s better.”  
“Y/n?” A gruff voice whispered from the darkness. Before you could answer, Geralt moved swiftly to your side and checked you over. “I heard you shouting, are you alright?”  
“Yes,” You gripped his sleeves, “But the bruxa. It’s got Jaskier.”  
“What? How?”  
“I had to leave him to help a villager. I told him to go to the room. It’s my fault.”  
“You know as well as I do that Jaskier is an entity unto himself. This is not your doing.” He pulled you up to stand, holding your shoulders until he was confident you were okay. When you regained feeling in your whole body and picked up your sword from where it had flew near a door and immediately halted. It was faint, but you could hear a voice, quiet and low, but like it was shouting. “Geralt?”  
“Yes I hear it too.” He replied, his black eyes staring at the door as if he could look through it. “A stairway. Let’s go.” 

If the creature decided to attack you on these stairs, it wouldn’t have much trouble killing you. Each step creaked with wood rot; the uneven levels made your head spin as they made a never-ending spiral upwards. But with each step, the cries got louder and clearer. It was definitely Jaskier, and he was alive. Eventually you made it to the top and silently sighed. It was another corridor; this one was thin and led to a single door at the other end. Geralt tentatively took a step forward and peeked up at the cracked stone ceiling above. “A trap?” You whispered. Geralt nodded. A louder sigh left you this time as you pulled a long clear quartz from your pouch and held it in front of you. Closing your eyes, you rubbed the crystal and muttered an incantation, feeling the pin prickles all over your body getting faster and deeper as you concentrated. Then you fluttered your eyes open and met y/e/c eyes in the figure standing opposite you. It was you; well, a mannequin version, a life-like doll which you commanded. “Impressive.” Geralt whispered, a lopsided smile on his lips. After a moment, the mannequin turned and walked down the corridor and began calling out to Jaskier. “I’m here!” You heard the bard scream out, “Oh y/n I’m here please before she comes back!” Just as your clone almost made it to the other end, a huge crash was heard from above and- just as Geralt had guessed- the creature burst through the ceiling and grabbed your clone, pulling it through the crumbling floor and several storeys below. It was silent except for the sound of debris and the faint cries of the creature. Geralt slowly walked down the corridor and peered over the edge before making a long whistle. You cautiously followed Geralt’s path, “Do you see it?”  
“Yes, it’s still alive and I think it’s just realised that was a fake.”  
Just as a faint screech was heard from below, Geralt lunged over the gap in the floor and made it to the door on the other end. You quickly followed and opened the door before Geralt could utter a word, your eyes soon laying on the crouched Jaskier, tears streaming from his shocked eyes. “Y/n? Oh gods y/n I thought she got you!” Your heart thumped wildly as you knelt by his side and embraced him tightly.  
“I told you to go to the inn,” You croaked, your emotions threatening to take over as you held his face in your hands and stared into his eyes, “I told you to stay there.”  
“I know I know, I was going and then, she entranced me somehow. I’m so sorry y/n.” He was unashamedly whimpering and for good reason. When you got a decent look at him- scratch marks on his face, his missing doublet and shirt in shreds- you knew he put up one hell of a fight. “You need to go. Now.” Geralt called out, watching the corridor with his sharpened senses.  
Carrying half of Jaskier’s weight, you helped him down the winding staircase and back down where the bruxa first got you. “So this bruxa, it’s a vampire?” Jaskier asked straining with each step.  
“Pretty much.” You answered him, “They’re all females. And have a thing for luring men to their deaths by appearing as a beautiful woman.”  
“Pfft, so it’s not just human females then.” You stopped and looked over at him with an unimpressed look, which quickly made him backtrack. “Oh but not you of course! You are the best thing that happened in my poor, miserable, sick-”  
“Yeah yeah I get it, your life was a mess before you met me.” You interrupted, rolling your eyes before dragging the mess of a bard back to the main exit. 

Just the large oak doors were in sight, there was another screech followed by a black bat that swopped around the corner in front of the door and hurtled towards you. “I’ve got this.” You shouted as you almost threw Jaskier into Geralt’s arms. Yanking a waterskin from your belt, you got a mouthful full of the bitter potent liquid before making a quick sign in the air, producing a fireball in the palm of your hand. As the bat drew closer, you held your hand to your mouth and spat out the liquid; causing a raging burst of fire to swoop up and spread in front of you like a crashing ocean wave. It engulfed the bat- which let out an animalistic shrill- before vanishing just as quickly as it grew. Wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, you sauntered over to the scorched, larger figure on the ground as it shuddered. You peeked back over your shoulder at the men, “Geralt?”  
“Yep.” He replied, letting Jaskier lean against the stone wall as he pulled his silver sword from his back and finished the creature with one swipe of his blade.

Sunlight grew over the treetops, bringing with it a warm glow and a sense of hope. The villagers were waiting at the edge of forest and cheered as the three of you emerged. It was strange, almost embarrassing, no one had ever celebrated you all like that. Streams of ‘thank yous’ followed you all to the inn as you and Geralt carried Jaskier up the stairs before barricading yourselves in your room for some rest. Geralt immediately wandered over to the bed by the window and fell on top of it, his snoring not long following. You silently dressed Jaskier’s wounds as his eyes followed your every move. After a while, just as you were about to finish and clean up, he placed his hands on yours, causing you to look up at him. “Thank you.” He smiled. “It’s nothing, just do what I ask next time.” You replied bluntly.  
“I mean it, y/n. You have been there for me on countless occasions, to save me or inspire me, so thank you. For everything.” He was smiling warmly at you which made your heart panic and heat spread through your chest. “You’re welcome.” You finally answered with a slight croak in your voice. Then you just gazed at each other in silence, his hands still on yours. Eventually Jaskier broke the silence, “I’m also sorry for what I said in the tavern. It was rude of me.” He momentarily looked away before returning his gaze to you, “When I’m fully healed, I’d like to buy you dinner, a proper one, maybe some wine too.”  
“Are you asking to court with me, Julian Pankratz?” You smirked, eyebrow raised, causing Jaskier to laugh.  
“Yes, I believe I am, Y/n Y/l/n.” Your instant reaction was to say no. Why wouldn’t it be? You’d spent years turning down suitors, knowing you’d long out live them thanks to your magical heritage. But with Jaskier, he made you feel… different. A smile crept on your lips, “Okay, I accept.”  
“Brilliant, I look forward to swooning you then.” He winked, before laying back in his bed and preparing to sleep. You stumbled to your own bed and lay on top of the covers, staring at the ceiling. Your heart was wracked with fear, excitement and existential dread. Your mind eagerly reminded you of his mortality, that one day you will have to watch the bard grow old and die. But you didn’t listen, being around Jaskier made you feel incredible and normal at the same time, like only you and he mattered in any given moment, like life was worth living even if only for a few decades.


End file.
